


Pushing Forward

by Dimilas



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Alternate Canon, F/F, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Subunits exist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 19:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17945891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dimilas/pseuds/Dimilas
Summary: Sometimes all you need is a push in the right direction.





	Pushing Forward

**Author's Note:**

> The timeline is a bit whack for this as its suppossed to be after Awaken the Power but also before the 3rd years graduate. Basically the events are pushed back in the timeline so there is still plenty of time until graduation/etc. but most of the things that happened stay the same and will most likely get a mention whenever given the opportunity

Riko was always someone who would pay attention in class, no matter the topic. Good grades were important after all and obviously she didn’t want to get into any trouble or embarrassing situations with teachers or classmates. But lately she found a lot of difficulty in paying attention to what the teacher had to say. It wasn’t as if she was disinterested in the material or had anything outside of classes on her mind, but instead it was her fellow 2nd years and friends that had her lose focus, more specifically You-chan. You herself however was not the one on Riko's mind, rather it was what she did during class whenever she got the chance to do so.

Whenever the teacher would lose focus on keeping the class in check her eyes wandered to the other source of Riko’s inability to pay attention, her other fellow 2nd year, Chika. The looks You threw usually were just quick glances but sometimes they were longer stares, frustrated looks, flushed faces or even angry glares whenever Chika would interact with her other classmates. The one thing Riko noticed the most however was whenever more relaxing classes happened, the students were free to talk and Chika more often than not turned her chair around to talk with her idol companions. You looked very sad whenever Chika would pay no attention to her and instead focused all her talk on Riko, it was as if she was physically drilling guilt into Riko whenever it happened.

Obviously Riko knew the reason of those stares, everyone did, everyone but Chika herself. It was very frustrating, frustrating to the point Riko tried to drag You back into conversations, which more often than not worked but still had a bitter feel to it, or excusing herself and leaving the classroom for as long as she could. Riko’s concentration during class more often than not turned into feeling bad for You or feeling shocked at how Chika was unable to pick up on the hints.

It couldn’t continue like this. Riko usually didn’t want to involve herself in others relationships but this time it was different. She knew Chika was very fond of You-chan, lots of her text exchanges with her were about how much fun she had while she and You were alone together on the weekends, which made her inability to see You’s feelings for her even more frustrating to think about. Chika also tended to prefer You during group activities or idol-activities, be it 2-man sports or when they were forming subunits. But all that was nothing compared to how obvious You-chan was in love with Chika and Riko knew that You might have gotten a wrong idea with how the mikan-lover approached her relationship to the pianist. It was time to change that.

 

* * *

 

As class ended Riko wasted no time and before Chika could even sit back down next to them she grabbed You by her shoulder.

“You-chan I need to talk to you for a bit, do you mind?” face brimming with confidence to help her friend out.

“I don’t mind, but this is pretty sudden isn’t it. Is it important?” visibly confused by the unusual behaviour.

“Yes. Really important. I need your help with something”

Obviously Chika couldn’t just ignore a cry for help and chimed in immediately.

“If it’s important I can help you to…”

Riko cut her off without a second thought “No no, please stay here it will just be a few minutes, besides you didn’t finish copying our notes yet” using Chika’s laziness to her advantage.

“Eeeeeh cmon” pleading with a pout-face and looking at her own notebook Chika knew she had no choice but to oblige. “fine I guess, but you have me curious now”

 

Riko would think of a good excuse later but her number one priority now was getting somewhere she wouldn’t be overheard so she promptly made her way to the rooftop still dragging You behind her. Reaching her destination and making sure no one around, she finally relaxed a bit and got ready to talk but was interrupted by the other 2nd year who had a very confused look on her face.

 

“Why did you drag me here Riko-chan. I thought you needed my help for something” her voice filling with doubt and questioning.

Riko took a deep breath “Actually the real reason I dragged you away is something that has been on my mind for weeks now. I want to help you”

“Help me? With what?” now especially confused about Riko's intentions.

Riko noticing the doubt sighed “With Chika-chan”

“W-what about Chika?” her face flushing lightly red and voice shaking.

“It’s obvious you are in love with her” dropping the bombshell with no mercy.

“E-eh?”

“Yes”

“Obvious? Really?”

“Really”

 

A short exchange and long pauses until finally Riko broke the silence “I feel like everyone has realised this already. Everyone can tell how much she means to you and you look way too happy when you interact with her. I’ve seen you catching glances and drilling holes with your eyes in class all the time.

“Everyone?” only a hint of shock in You’s voice.

“Everyone except Chika it looks like” Riko reaffirmed

“Even everyone in Aqours?” her voice shaking way more this time and her face looking even more embarrassed.

“Ruby and I have talked about it so she definitely knows, she is in your subunit after all, I’m not sure about everyone else but even Yoshiko-chan seems to have picked up on it and you know how she acts whenever we watch romance movies with the group” referring to Yoshiko being completely oblivious to the plot of these kind of movies, seemingly avoiding understanding them and being very embarrassed when it is explained to her, which Riko found to be both adorable and silly.

“I thought I was better at hiding it …” slowly admitting defeat but quickly brightening up “wait, does this mean you aren’t interested in Chika-chan yourself?”

Riko had heard the rumors and it was one of the reasons she wanted to clear it up for You-chan once and for all.

“Chika-chan helped me a lot and I am very grateful to her and you for that matter. Making me join Aqours was the best thing that ever happened to me and I don’t regret a single second of it. Her insistence on not giving up my piano helped me bring a close to a darker chapter of my life and I will never forget it but” remembering some of these moments made her smile as she continued “I don’t love her the way you do. She is a precious friend and I know she would help anyone of us out the same way she helped me. Her and all of Aqours are very important to me and that is all I need at the moment”

 

There was a longer silence in the air as Riko finished talking and her resolve strengthening through her own words finally broke the silence.

“You are also an important friend and thats why I want to help you. Because I know Chika is too dense and you need a little push to finally get the ball rolling. I can’t guarantee it will work out but at the very least I know Chika thinks highly of you and I want you to get closure, even if it will take a while to get through to her” she extended a hand to You-chan who had slowly made her way to the ground both because of embarrassment and immense relief.

Grabbing Riko’s hand to stand up again “I’m counting on you Riko-chan” not doubting anything Riko said she quickly got back into a firm pose.

“Leave it to me” brimming with confidence Riko thought about first steps already “I don’t want to meddle too much. I’ll only give you a push whenever you need it. After all you want to express _your_ feelings”

“It wouldn’t be worth it otherwise” You reaffirmed. “Lets head back to class. I bet Chika is wondering what we are up to and … thanks Riko-chan”

Riko nodded and they made their way back to class without exchanging any more words and with that the redhead finally had some peace of mind and could relax during her studies.

 

* * *

 

It was evening by now, nothing really happened during practise, or after it, and Riko knew that there was still a lot to do before the overall situation could change for the better. However, doubts settled into her mind, doubts on how exactly she will help out. She obviously couldn’t use up her time to make strategy meetings with You-chan or anything of the like, as that would defeat the purpose of her managing it herself and she herself didn’t really know how to manage to get through Chika’s dense nature through normal means. Usually she would ask Ruby about advice regarding stuff like that, considering Ruby managed to become the most mature Aqours member when it came to romance, most likely through her fast growing relationship to Leah and her Sister who seemed more knowledgeable on the subject than any members of her own idol group, and her ability to help out whenever a classmate of Riko would come to the pianist for romance advice, which likely was enabled by the rumors about Chika and Riko. This time however she didn’t want to involve Ruby as her being in the same subunit as Chika and You could make things more awkward than it already was for her if she were to help out.

Riko clearly needed help but couldn’t think of who would be best suited in giving it. Dia was mature in general but when it came to romance she usually wasn’t interested in it. Mari could have been a good candidate, however her teasing might be too much for You to handle in the early stages. Hanamaru might have had good ideas through reading romance novels, but with Chika, methods like these would probably fail. Kanan was a good person to ask, however she was very busy helping out her family currently and she didn’t want to burden her even more, especially not with the prospect of her childhood friends dating.

The only one left was Yoshiko, the same girl that would be oblivious to anything romance, probably on purpose, and had her own special way of dealing with things, namely whenever she went into fallen angel mode. Riko and Yoshiko had become good friends every since the Nocturne/Laelaps incident and Riko more often than not found herself engaged or dragged into the fallen angels shenanigans, she’d lie if she said she didn’t enjoy letting loose with her every now and then. Her thoughts stayed on Yoshiko for a while until she realised that maybe Yoshiko’s way of dealing with things would be exactly the kind of thing You needed to get Chika to open up to her, or at the very least give her better ideas.

Riko herself wanted Yoshiko to be more relaxed around her, especially while she was fully wrapped up in her persona, so this was a great opportunity. She enjoyed the first years presence and it coinciding with her needing a partner in crime to help You got a faint smile out of her as she grabbed her phone and gave the fallen angel a quick “Can you stay after practise tomorrow” message. Not long after sending it she got a in-character response “Of course I will stay for my elite little Demon” A short thank you text from Riko followed right after.

Riko hoped Yoshiko would agree with helping her but for some reason she also felt somewhat happy over the prospect of potentially hanging out with the fallen angel, maybe she enjoyed the shenanigans she was dragged into more than she wanted to admit. With best expectations in mind Riko stretched her arms and sat down to finish her homework, which was easier today considering she actually managed to pay attention in class again. Scribbling a little demon face on the side of her notes, still thinking about how exactly Yoshiko can help out, she continued with her daily tasks.

 

In a different apartment, not too far away from Riko, a certain fallen angel looked happily at her phone as she hummed in excitement for the next day. Looking at a photo of two girls with a dog she continued to grab her controller again and resumed playing whatever she put off, somehow managing to pass the difficult spot she was stuck in with a breeze.

 

**Author's Note:**

> The relationships tagged will be the only ones for the specific characters. I won't go out of my way to make any love triangles or changes of heart, however there might be new ones added. 
> 
> The first chapter, or prologue rather, is mostly focused on setting up everything so i couldn't get to the main relationship I want to write about (that being yohariko) just yet. I'd still like some feedback or advice etc. on my writing as this is the first time I publish something for more than myself to see and I'd like to improve as much as possible, no need to be too nice (especially during dialogue I feel improvement is needed) 
> 
> Updates might happen fast or with longer breaks inbetween, it will depend on how life treats me. Going with a multiple chapter fic straight of the bat might have not been the greatest idea but oh well, happens to the best of us.


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